Eddie Brock to get his stand alone film, Venom is coming back to the big screen!

One of the biggest disappointments from Spider-Man 3 was how they developed the villains, or actually how they didn't develop the villains, but between the three baddies that we had to contend with the biggest let down was Eddie Brock A.K.A. Venom.

Venom, by far one of the coolest villains in the Spider-Man universe, was played poorly by Topher Grace and was definitely one of the biggest let downs in the entire Spider-Man trilogy.

Not to say Topher Grace was the wrong man for the job, but with poor material and a badly put together movie, you just weren't going to get any stellar performances. I mean, asking God to kill Peter Parker is one of the lamest lines I've ever heard.

But Venom fans rejoice, Marvel is moving forward with a new stand alone film, yep you heard right, Venom is coming back to the big screen.

We've confirmed that "the studio" has met recently with several "A list writers" about a spin-off film.

Eight years ago, New Line Cinema held the theatrical rights to Venom. Since then, the rights have reverted back Marvel. But does Sony have complete control over the character since he was a part of Spidey 3 or does Marvel control the rights to the character with Sony only having distribution rights?

We have to assume that since there is movement and there has been recent meetings with writers this property must belong to Marvel since they have made an interim agreement with the WGA and proceed to develop projects during the current strike. Either way, one thing is for certain, Venom will get a second shot at the big screen.

Will it be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of storyline or are we going to see other characters from the Marvel universe such as Scorpion or maybe even Carnage? Let the assumptions and speculation begin. We will try to get Marvel and/or Sony to go on the record early next week.

Here is more info on Venom:

Venom, or the Venom Symbiote, is the name given to the first symbiote life form to appear in the fictional Marvel Universe. The creature is a sentient alien with a liquid-like form. It requires a host, usually human, to bond around for its survival. In return the Venom creature gives its host enhanced powers. In effect, when the Venom Symbiote bonds with a human to form a super-villain, that new dual-life form itself is also often called Venom. The symbiote, with or without a host, is an arch-enemy of Spider-Man, who was the first host it merged with before its evil motives were clear. After Spider-Man rejected it, the symbiote went on to merge with other hosts and so began its popular reign as the villain known as Venom.

The Venom Symbiote first appeared in Secret Wars vol.1, #8 where Spider-Man first encountered it and unwittingly merged together. After Spider-Man rejected it the Symbiote merged with Eddie Brock, its most well-known host, in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (April 1988). Its current host is Mac Gargan, the villain formerly known as Scorpion.

Originally, the Venom symbiote was portrayed as a mute and lonely creature craving the company of a host. More recently, it has been shown as increasingly abusive of its hosts, and having the powers of speech. Also the Venom Symbiote itself has no known name, as Venom is essentially the moniker it has adopted since its history with Spider-Man on Earth.

According to S.H.I.E.L.D., it is considered one of the greatest threats to humanity, alongside Magneto, Doctor Doom, and Red Skull.

The Venom symbiote also appears in the film Spider-Man 3 first merging to Spider-Man's suit and then to Eddie Brock.

With Heath Ledger's villainous Joker drawing attention and boxoffice dollars, Sony is moving forward with "Venom," a potential "Spider-Man" spinoff based on a bad guy.

The studio is developing the project, based on the gooey nemesis who appeared in "Spider-Man 3" and is hoping the character could serve as an antidote to the aging "Spider-Man" franchise in the way that Fox has used Wolverine to add longevity to its "X-Men" franchise.

But getting any spinoff off the ground, let alone one centered on a villain, can be tricky.

The studio had commissioned a draft of the script from Jacob Estes, a writer of the specialty film "Mean Creek," released several years ago by Paramount Classics. He's also attached to the Plan B drama "The Gifted."

But the studio is considering going in a different direction from Estes' script and is seeking writers for a new draft.

Mean Creek?! That movie was awesome!

I don't what's going on with this, but I'd be willing to guess, sight unseen, that if Estes wrote a draft, it's better than whoever they hired to replace him can come up with.

Introduced to the Marvel Universe more than twenty years ago, Venom has provided a variety of hosts with enhanced powers, always with devastating effects as it perpetrates a reign of terror. As one of the most villainous characters in the Marvel arsenal, could this pile of extraterrestrial goo really transition to leading man?

“I think Venom could headline a good movie on his own, but it would be tricky and would depend in large part on the script,” Venom’s creator David Michelinie told MTV News. As the “Amazing Spider-Man” writer behind the origin story depicted in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3,” Michelinie argues the film’s success would depend most on who’s inhabiting the suit.

In “Spider-Man 3,” Venom fused with Eddie Brock (played by Topher Grace), but Brock’s climactic and seemingly conclusive death scene leaves an open slot for the symbiote’s host. “If Eddie’s still dead from “Spider-Man 3,” stated Michelinie,” “the story and the success of the movie would depend almost entirely on the personality of the character who would combine with the symbiote: his motivations, his background, his methodology…his heart and soul.”

Giving the film a heart will be one of the biggest factors towards a successful Venom film, said “Incredible Hulk vs. Venom” author Peter David. “The trick is making sure that there’s a sympathetic character for the audience to identify with,” he said. “In a Venom film, that could be anyone from whoever Venom’s antagonist is to whomever the symbiote possesses.”

Writer/artist Kaare Andrews, whose “Spider-Man: Reign” pitted Peter Parker against Venom in a shadowy future, calls the thought of a theatrical leap exciting. “I’m hoping this version of Venom will be the big beast of an alien from comics and not as wimpy and whiney as the last movie.” Andrews, for his part, hopes Spider-Man remains the hero at the other end of the mutant battle. “They are so great as opposing forces, and as a fan I feel a little cheated from ‘Spider-Man 3.’”

If a Venom film does move forward, one thing is clear. As the first superhero movie with a supervillain as its star, fans will expect a certain tone…and it’s not sunshine and flowers. “It’d be cool if they made it the darkest and most disturbing ‘Spider-Man’ movie to date,” mused “Spider-Man: Venom vs. Carnage” writer Peter Milligan. “A real journey into the dark side of the inhuman soul. But that won’t happen.”

And Sony has hired a pair of screenwriters to get going on the Spider-Man 3 spinoff movie Venom. Given that comic book artist/writer and action figure maker, Todd McFarlane, who is one of the creators of the Marvel villain, doesn't think a Venom movie could do well with a villain as the central character, my sources think Sony should let Topher Grace, even though he was blown up at the end of Spider-Man 3 (yet a portion of the Venom costume survived), stay in the role because the likeable actor could be a a sympathetic evildoer.

Sony also has stepped up developing the "Spider-Man" spinoff "Venom," first recruiting writer Jacob Estes to draft a script and most recently bringing in scribes Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, who penned "Zombieland" for the studio.

Topher Grace played Venom in "Spider-Man 3," but it's unclear whether Sony would cast him for the "Venom" feature or bring in new talent.

Edward Douglas wrote:A few weeks back, ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! had the privilege of visiting the set of Sony's upcoming horror comedy Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. While we can't talk just yet about what we saw, we did get to spend a good 45 minutes with the film's co-writers and executive producers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, both cool guys who are clearly fans of genre. With that in mind, it was exciting to know they were working on the first draft for Sony's planned "Spider-Man" spin-off movie Venom, and we had to try to get in a few questions about that.

The duo actually went to Sony with a pitch for their take for the popular Spidey villain, but couldn't really say too much about it due to the usual non-disclosure agreements anyone involved with such a high profile project for Marvel would probably have to sign.

"Venom is something that we're very fired up to be writing," Reese told us. "We have turned in a draft and are waiting to hear back, so it's early in the process. But it's a thrill to be writing 'Venom' for obvious reasons."

As far as what Marvel is looking for, Reese did say that they had to follow "certain parameters" or the "47 rules" as Wernick called them.

"Obviously, with a character like Venom there's a ton of stuff to draw from," Reese told us. "Then they had specific rules about the villain and the backstory and stuff like that, so there were certain things they wanted us... certain parameters they gave us. But largely we pitched them something and they liked it but they had changes, so we worked on the outline for a long time and then we wrote the script. So with Marvel and Sony and us it's definitely very, very collaborative."

They couldn't talk about whether they were going to ignore everything that happened with the character in Spider-Man 3 or start fresh for reasons mentioned above.

They're also working on a project with Universal called Earth vs. Moon, which also sounds like an exciting idea for a film. Reese told us a little bit more:

"It's a science-fiction epic war movie ala, I don't know, 'Braveheart.' It's sort of got a little 'Star Wars' in it, a little 'Braveheart,' a little '300' in it. It's like it's sort of exactly what the title suggests. It's big and crazy and it's gonna be awesome. It's a colony on the moon, and the colony on the moon is fighting Earth. We're very, very excited about it. We've also turned in a draft on that and are waiting to hear back, so we're in early stages on each of those."

Look for more about our visit to the set of Zombieland over on ComingSoon.net and ShockTillYouDrop.com sometime in the near future.

Yeah, I gotta admit that I'm not really a Venom fan. I mean, he looks cool, but I don't think he's fascinating enough to carry a whole movie. (Which is one of the reasons why I'm less disappointed with Spidey 3 than the millions of angry fanboys on the web.)

Larry Carroll wrote:“I co-created Venom,” artist/writer/entrepreneur Todd McFarlane told MTV News. “He was in the last ‘Spider-Man’ movie. And I think he might make an appearance here in the next one, too.”

McFarlane told us that he watched closely as director Sam Raimi developed his alien symbiote character into a role for Topher Grace in the 2007 blockbuster; but as the filmmaker sought to draw a light/dark comparison between the similarly-built Grace and Tobey Maguire, he dropped the ball on a few of the character’s key elements.

“He’s one of the more popular villains of the last ten, fifteen years,” McFarlane explained, offering his advice on the how Venom could be corrected for “Spider-Man 4,” his own spin-off and beyond. “Given that I created him, I have a little bit of a bias.”

“I would’ve done a few things different,” McFarlane said of the shortcomings that hindered the movie version of Venom. “When I first created him, I made him huge. That would’ve been the first thing for me; I would’ve wanted somebody who looked like he was three times the size of Spider-Man, so it was almost like Spider-Man going against the Hulk. [I want] someone who is really formidable; whenever you have a skinny character against a big one it’s like ‘Woah, I’m going to have to work today.’ But instead, the two of them were about the same size.”

Furthermore, McFarlane offered: “I would’ve done something more dramatic. [I also would’ve increased] the nastiness; I never cared too much about the comics code. I always pushed the envelope until the editor said ‘You’d better pull that back.’”

Among the many classic titles that McFarlane worked on over the years is Wolverine, and when he spoke with us, he insisted that the success of that character shows that audiences are ready for a big, bad, bloody Venom.

“I think one of the reasons why Wolverine is so popular is because he did stuff that Captain America or Batman would never do,” McFarlane explained, hoping Venom is properly beefed-up and unleashed in the next “Spider-Man” film. “Today’s generation, they can handle that stuff.”

Wow. That sounds... absolutely horrible. Changing Eddie Brock from a musclebound goon to a Peter Parker doppelganger was one of the few things that Spider-Man 3 got right. Maybe Todd McFarlane should stick to comics.

Borys Kit wrote:Gary Ross is writing “Venom,” Columbia’s “Spider-Man” spinoff based on one of the villains from “Spider-Man 3,” as a potential directing vehicle. Ross is already writing “Spider-Man 4” for the studio.

In the comics, Venom is a gooey alien parasite that bonds with Peter Parker and later his newsroom rival, among other people, becoming one of more popular villains in "Spider-Man’s" rogue gallery.

Topher Grace portrayed the character in the 2007 movie, which ended with both the human and the alien symbiote apparently destroyed in an explosion.

The studio had no comment on Grace’s involvement nor on Ross writing the project.

We don't know what's worse: That there's a rumor about rebooting Venom so soon after his appearance in Spider-Man 3 or that Sony maybe wants Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman to play him.

The internets delivered another story surrounding the top-secret Spider-Man reboot, this one centering on a possible return of Eddie Brock's symbiote alter ego, Venom. We're not sure exactly how this will play out, if at all - will this Venom be the one from Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man run, a potential cure for cancer gone all awry?

It's a fluid situation, they might add another candidate or two, but these are the five main contenders. SPE and director Marc Webb might well take one for Gwen, and another for Mary Jane. All this should be wrapped up shortly and then we can get on to speculating about the villain. Early unconfirmed talk: they want to bring back Venom and they are looking at Philip Seymour Hoffman. Discuss!

Steven Zeitchik wrote:EXCLUSIVE: With Sony’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” looking to kick-start a Spidey resurgence this summer, the studio is taking a crack at another character associated with the superhero: Venom.

The studio is negotiating with Josh Trank, the hot director of this winter’s found-footage hit "Chronicle," to take the reins of the Spidey spin-off, said a person familiar with the project who was not authorized to talk about it publicly. Sony was not immediately available for comment.

The film would center on the gooey villain who was a mainstay of the Marvel comics and was a nemesis, incarnated by Topher Grace, in the third “Spider-Man” picture in 2007. (The character attaches himself to a human host and becomes as powerful as the web-slinging superhero.)

A Venom film has been long-gestating at the studio, dating back at least to 2008 and preceding plans for this summer's Marc Webb-Andrew Garfield take on the character. Gary Ross negotiated to direct a Venom film back in 2009 but moved on to other projects, including the upcoming “Hunger Games.”

Jacob Estes (“The Details”) wrote a draft of a “Venom” script several years ago, but producers are seeking a new writer, said the source. (The Ross version was to craft Venom as less a villain than an antihero.) The film also would be seeking a new actor; Grace is not expected to reprise the role.

With "Venom," the 27-year-old Trank would not only return to superhero territory but would also bring a flair for shoe-leather storytelling that resonates with audiences: Despite an absence of stars as well as a modest budget, “Chronicle” has grossed more than $60 million since coming out last month.

Adam Chitwood wrote:When speaking with Reese and Wernick, Steve asked the duo if they did, in fact, tackle a script for a Venom movie:

Paul Wernick: We did. A long time ago, and it likely will not become a movie in that form. Too many things have happened in between now and then and different people have been involved, and it’s just likely not to happen in the form that we wrote it, unfortunately.

Though their iteration of the script is unlikely to move forward, the two did talk about the tone of their take on the character:

Rhett Reese: [It was a] realistic, grounded, a little more dark take on the character.

Wernick: Yeah it was definitely kind of dark and soul search-y. We love it and we’re proud of it.

Reese: Eddie Brock was a conflicted character, and so I don’t think it could’ve been Peter Parker.

Reese and Wernick revealed that they actually pitched their own take on the story rather than having Sony dictate a specific Venom story that they had to use, and they teased an exciting sequence that was part of their script:

Wernick: Imagine a symbiote traveling across a city at some point in the movie, jumping from body to body as it goes, and each person that it inhabits ends up becoming really violent and striking someone else and then it jumps to the next person. There was a really cool sequence like that in there.